I was wondering, is there a distinction made by the Catholic Church, between having a sexual relationship, outside of marriage, between a heterosexual couple; and having a sexual relationship between a homosexual couple? Are they equal in how serious an offense they are to God? It appears to me that they are both serious sins, with hell being the likely destination for both. However the main concern of the Church is that homosexuals don’t get married. Is this how you see it?
Thank you PatGK

Answer by Richard Geraghty on 1/17/2014:

Dear Pat,

All sexual acts outside of marriage are seriously sinful. There are, however, degrees of
sinfulness. Dante distinguished between the seven levels of hell. The reason why the Church
today stresses particularly the sin of homosexual acts because it is becoming more common,
more public, and more fashionable. Indeed it is being made level in some states and may
eventually be legal in all states. Thus same sex marriage is a special danger to regular
marriage, which is having many difficulties of its own. If the practice of tradition marriage
continues, the nation is doomed no matter how much economic and military power it has.